A new study at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville is trying to make a connection between a happy gut and a healthy heart.
Gut bacteria is connected to many types of disorders.
UNF Nutrition and Dietetics professor Andrea Arikawa is conducting research on the effect that eating fermented vegetables, like Korean kimchi and sauerkraut, has on the body’s microbiome and heart health.
“The dose that we’re giving is about 100 grams a day, which is about half a cup, and for a longer period of time and we’re trying to see if that can change the composition of the bacteria in the gut and also change the markers of inflammation in their blood,” said Arikawa.
UNF still needs study participants from Jacksonville. A website with information is at happygut.domains.unf.edu.
The full interview with Arikawa can be heard on Monday’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, which encores at 8 p.m. on WJCT News 89.9.
Michelle Corum can be reached at mcorum@wjct.org, 904-358-6308 or on Twitter at @MCorumonME.
